Football great Jacques honored at Doyle Field

LEOMINSTER -- Ralph Jacques used to have a larger-than-life personality that matched his ultra-strong and imposing 280-pound frame.

But as the former Leominster semi-pro coach and football legend was driven through the tunnel at Doyle Field in a John Deere Gator on Saturday during the third annual Blue & White scrimmage game, his now fragile 220-pound build evidence of the way he's been fighting for his life since 2010.

"If you remember how big and strong he was, he's not that man anymore," said Jay Jacques, the 41-year-old son of Ralph. "That man is gone. It's tough.

"My father was known for the calves and the forearms, now it's pretty much in his midsection. He's kind of lopsided because of liver cancer.

From left, Leominster High School football coach Dave Palazzi, Michael Austin, Ralph Jacques and Sike Tocci pose at Doyle Field in Leominster during a ceremony to honor Jacques' lifelong contributions to local athletics. To see video from the ceremony, visit www.sentinelandenterprise.com. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE / SCOTT LAPRADE

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He's been through so much. Kidney cancer, liver cancer, the tumors in the brain, the diabetes. It's been a really upward battle. He loses more battles than he wins, but he's a fighter."

According to Jay Jacques, his father has had seven brain tumors in the last seven years.

"Unfortunately there may be another tumor growing," Jay Jacques said. "It is an uncertain future. We're living for the now."

On Saturday, Leominster High School football coach Dave Palazzi presented a game ball to Jacques during a brief ceremony to honor his dedication to coaching football in the area and giving kids a place to play for so many years in the semi-pro circuit.

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"Coach Ralph Jacques is a person who obviously is the embodiment of what it's all about for Leominster football," Palazzi said during his speech in front of youth and high school players from throughout the city. "He gave his heart and soul to the kids, he started the semi-pro football and got that back going. Everything is about kids for him. He's a veteran and he's done it the right way. He's always bled blue. He came to Leominster and bled blue and it's all been about football ever since.

"We wanted to take this opportunity today to say thank you for all of your passion about this program and you really stand for what I want these guys to understand what the game is really about. It's a love for one another, it's always about team, it's always about your teammates first and most of all respecting the game and respecting yourselves. Today, we want to honor you and give you this football and say thank you for all that you have done for the city of Leominster."

Jay Jacques knows his dad's spirits were sky high while being back on the football field that he coached on for so many seasons with the Leominster Lions, Commonwealth Cavalry and the Leominster Razorbacks, and served as a much-needed morale booster and diversion for all the hard times he's gone though with his failing health.

"He misses football so much. To give back like this, it's going to bring him back to where he needs to be," said Jay Jacques, fighting back tears. "I'm very happy about this. He needed something in his life to give him something to wake up in the morning for. Now he's got it. This is great. This is amazing. It makes me so happy inside."

And that smile. It returned to Jacques' face while the sun was splashing down on the hot turf on Doyle Field, his son said.

"Coming over here and seeing all these people and smiling, he hasn't smiled in five years," Jay said.

Ralph Jacques said he was honored to receive the game ball and loved seeing so many former players from the Leominster Razorbacks semi-pro team and so many other coaches that made it a point to shake his hand and talk briefly with the coaching legend after the ceremony.

"It's hard to express, it really is," Ralph Jacques said. "I'm overwhelmed. It brings back a lot of memories."

Despite so much memory loss, Jacques didn't hesitate when asked what his greatest memory is about coaching semi-pro football.

"The team that won the championship up in Maine," he said.

That was the 2007 Leominster Razorbacks club that won the title and lost only once that season.

One of his former players, Lunenburg's Anthony Muhnisky, made it a point to attend the ceremony to honor his former coach.

"Ralph was a second father," said Muhnisky, a 1993 Lunenburg High grad. "He'd do anything for us. He single-handedly is the reason why most of us in the area were able to play after college. He's a great guy who cared for his players. By him showing his dedication, most of us would do anything for that guy."

Muhnisky also said it's "heartbreaking" to see Ralph Jacques fighting for his life on a daily basis.

"He's given so much. He's given his life for football," Muhnisky said. "He's a great coach, but he's more than that. He taught us a lot of life lessons. His dedication and commitment, he'd come early and always stay late."

Ralph Jacques' struggles are a 24/7 battle, according to his son, who moved back home from Oregon in 2010 to take care of his idol, father and former pigskin coach.

His son said Ralph Jacques needs to be woken up every morning, helped out of bed, helped to use the bathroom and to take a shower. His breakfast is made for him, his medication is given to him and he's helped getting dressed.

"He pretty much needs help every step of the way," Jay said. "It's tough for him. Imagine losing your independence and having to rely on others. Those are his daily battles."

Jay Jacques that watching his father go from a hulking figure to a shell of himself has been very difficult to accept.

"He was the strongest guy I knew," the proud son said. "But I'm thankful that I'm here to be with him and help him. He was my coach, but now I'm his coach. It's life, but I'm thankful because he's here."

Ralph Jacques, 65, is an Army veteran who served in Vietnam from 1971-73.

"He's affected by Agent Orange," his son said. "He's been through a lot."

Ralph Jacques grew up in Medford before moving to Hudson and graduating from Hudson High School.

"He was a better hockey player than a football player," said Jay Jacques, "and he was also a hell of a punter."

Ralph Jacques, who is retired from the Department of Corrections, attended Northeastern University and played football and hockey in college.

"He almost also went to the Olympics to play rugby," Jay Jacques said. "My dad was an animal in his time."

Jacques was a tough-as-nails coach who wore his emotions on his sleeve.

He always wanted his teams to play fast and physical and never quit until the final whistle sounded.

Giving up was never an option on any Ralph Jacques-coached team. Never.

Despite not being as muscular as he once was and confined to a walker, Ralph Jacques still hasn't lost that fighting spirit.

"I can't say that I'm in the best health," he said. "I'm fighting some things right now, but I'm not going to give up."

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